(1) A crisis exists in the funding of health and social
programs of this state;

(2) These programs exist to provide federal and state
supported services to citizens in need;

(3) The health and well-being of these citizens is jeopardized
when uncontrolled growth in various programs uses a
disproportionate share of the available funding;

(4) State programs are often developed and implemented with
limited private or federal grant moneys, which require future
funding from the limited state resources; and

(5) The problem is exacerbated when various state agencies
make competing or conflicting policy decisions.

WVC 16 - 29 E- 2
§16-29E-2. Legislative intent.
It is the intent of the Legislature that all actions taken
pursuant to the provisions of this article by the Legislature and
the various agencies within the department of health and human
resources serve the following core set of principles:

(1) That all health and social programs offered under state
authority be coordinated to maximize efficiencies and minimize
competition within the various agencies thereby addressing the
needs of the citizens more effectively;

(2) That communication be facilitated among the various
agencies within the department of health and human resources and
between the department and the Legislature;

(3) That policy changes, not made by legislative rule, be
discussed with the commission for purposes of coordinating those
policies with existing programs and stated goals;

(4) That programs or policies implemented in accordance with
federal mandates be communicated to the commission;

(5) That in developing and implementing programs with private
or federal grant moneys, the various agencies communicate their
efforts to the commission to ensure and facilitate future state
funding; and

(6) That agencies previously exempted from rule-making review
by federal or state statutes advise the commission of program
changes which may affect the health and well-being of the citizens
of West Virginia.

WVC 16 - 29 E- 3
§16-29E-3. Definitions.
As used in this article:

(a) "Agency" means those various agencies, authorities,
boards, committees, commissions or departments of the department of
health and human resources with authority to promulgate legislative
rules pursuant to this chapter that regulate health care providers,
practitioners or consumers; or those offering social services
programs;

(a) There is hereby created a joint commission of the
Legislature known as the legislative oversight commission on health
and human resources accountability. The commission shall be
composed of six members of the Senate appointed by the president of
the Senate and six members of the House of Delegates appointed by
the speaker of the House of Delegates. No more than five of the
six members appointed by the president of the Senate and the
speaker of the House of Delegates, respectively, may be members of
the same political party. In addition, the president of the Senate
and speaker of the House of Delegates shall be ex officio nonvoting
members of the commission and shall designate the cochairpersons.
At least one of the Senate appointees and one of the House of
Delegates appointees shall be the chairperson of the committee on
health and human resources of the Senate and House of Delegates,
respectively, and at least one of the Senate appointees and at
least one of the House of Delegates appointees shall be a member of
the committee on finance of the Senate and House of Delegates,
respectively. The members shall serve until their successors shall
have been appointed as heretofore provided.

(b) Members of the commission shall receive such compensation
and expenses as provided in article two-a, chapter four of this
code. Such expenses and all other expenses including those
incurred in the employment of legal, technical, investigative,
clerical, stenographic, advisory and other personnel shall be paid
from an appropriation to be made expressly for the legislative oversight commission on health and human resources accountability:
Provided, That if no such appropriation be made, such expenses
shall be paid from the appropriation under "Fund No. 0175 for Joint
Expenses" created pursuant to the provisions of said chapter:
Provided, however, That no expense of any kind payable under the
account for joint expenses shall be incurred unless first approved
by the joint committee on government and finance.

(c) The commission shall meet at any time both during sessions
of the Legislature and in the interim or as often as may be
necessary.

WVC 16 - 29 E- 5
§16-29E-5. Powers and duties of commission.

(a) The powers, duties and responsibilities of the commission
shall include the following:

(1) Make a continuing investigation, study and review of the
practices, policies and procedures of the health care and social
services agencies in this state;

(2) Make a continuing investigation, study and review of all
matters related to health and social policy in the state;

(3) Review program development by the various agencies of the
department of health and human resources if those programs impact
the physical, emotional or social well-being of the citizens of
West Virginia;

(4) Conduct studies on:

(A) The amount of funds expended by hospitals and other health
care providers of this state for services to persons who are unable
to pay for those services and for which they receive no other form
of reimbursement;

(B) The extent to which persons in this state forego needed
medical services because of insufficient income and assets to pay
for those services;

(C) The extent to which the state is maximizing available
federal programs and moneys in providing health care services to
the citizens of this state;

(D) The operation of the programs and funds created by article
twenty-nine-c of this chapter; and

(E) The roles of the public, private and private nonprofit
sectors in providing health care services to the citizens of this state;

(5) Review and study the state medicaid program in order to
determine if the state medicaid agency, as the payor of last
resort, is expending maximum effort to identify alternate private
insurance resources for medicaid beneficiaries;

(6) Review and study the feasibility and financial impact upon
the state of assuring increased access to medicaid beneficiaries to
primary health care in the nonhospital setting by requiring
enrollment in a primary care clinic program, if available;

(7) Review and study the feasibility and financial impact upon
the state of the establishment of different and lesser schedules of
payment for primary health services delivered by a hospital
emergency room as compared to the schedule of payments for
emergency room services of a true medical emergency nature;

(8) Conduct a study on the effects of rural health networks,
including effects on the quality, cost and availability of care;
and

(9) Meet jointly with the advisory committee created in
article thirty-five of this chapter to determine methods for
coordinating the collection and analysis of health care information
within the state, including the development of health information
systems that will allow for the electronic transmittal of data and
access by the various agencies of government.

(b) The commission shall make annual reports to the
Legislature regarding the results of all investigations, studies
and reviews pursuant to the provisions of section seven of this
article.

(a) For purposes of carrying out its duties, the commission is
hereby empowered and authorized to examine witnesses and to
subpoena such persons and books, records, documents, papers or any
other tangible things as it believes should be examined to make a
complete investigation.

(b) All witnesses appearing before the commission under
subpoena shall testify under oath or affirmation. Any member of
the commission may administer oaths or affirmations to such
witnesses.

(c) To compel the attendance of witnesses at such hearings or
the production of any books, records, documents, papers or any
other tangible thing, the commission is hereby empowered and
authorized to issue subpoenas, signed by one of the cochairpersons,
in accordance with section five, article one, chapter four of this
code. Such subpoenas shall be served by any person authorized by
law to serve and execute legal process and service shall be made
without charge. Witnesses subpoenaed to attend hearings shall be
allowed the same mileage and per diem as is allowed witnesses
before any petit jury in this state.

(d) If any person subpoenaed to appear at any hearing shall
refuse to appear or to answer inquiries there propounded, or shall
fail or refuse to produce books, records, documents, papers or any
other tangible thing within his control when the same are demanded,
the commission shall report the facts to the circuit court of
Kanawha County or any other court of competent jurisdiction and
such court may compel obedience to the subpoena as though such subpoena had been issued by such court in the first instance.

WVC 16 - 29 E- 7
§16-29E-7. Legislative reports.

(a) The commission shall submit annual reports to the
Legislature, as required by the provisions of section five of this
article, which such reports shall describe and evaluate in a
concise manner:

(1) The major activities of the several health and human
resources agencies for the fiscal year immediately past, including
important policy decisions reached on initiatives undertaken during
that year, especially as such activities, decisions and initiatives
relate to:

(A) The implementation of health care or social services
programs;

(B) Improving the accessibility of appropriate health care in
all areas of this state;

(C) Improving the health status of the citizens of this state;
and

(D) Coordinating social services programs to reflect a
cohesive delivery of transitional services.

(2) Other information considered by the commission to be
important, including recommendations for statutory, fiscal or
policy reforms and reasons for such recommendations.

(b) The reports may specify in what manner any practice,
policy or procedure may or should be modified to satisfy the goal
of efficient and effective delivery of health and social services
programs and to improve the quality of health and social services
available in this state.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2016 Regular Session
The West Virginia Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.